Nano-based surface treatment effects on swelling , water sorption and hardness of wood

Untreated and nano-based compound treated chestnut, wild cherry, fir, and black pine wood sampleswere immersed in water at four different temperature levels. It was found that the nano-based compoundwas a very effective agent for lowering both the initial and maximum equilibrium transverse swelling ofwood. However, the latter were found to have similar trends as the initial swelling properties. The surfacetreatment appeared not to improve the maximum water absorption. The highest average activation energywas calculated for chestnut (23.1 kJ/mole), followed by pine (20.2 kJ/mole), cherry (18.1 kJ/mole), andfir (16.2 kJ/mole). However, the nano-based treatment resulted in a small increase in activation energiesof all wood species. It was found that absorption of water into wood as well as increasing temperaturehad a lowering effect on shore D hardness